Yarn-dyed fabric and method of manufacturing the same



Nov. 16 1926. 1,607,568 G. E. SHIPWAY YARN DYED FABRIC AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME Filed Sept. 10. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 16 1926. 1,607,568

G. E. SHIPWAY ARN DYED FABRIC AND METHOD Q MANUFAQTURING THE SAME \ei Ser'ms,

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Patented Nov. 16, 1926.

res sts UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. SHIPWAY, OF I-IGRO'EOIT, CGNNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE SALTS TEXTILE MANUFACTURING 00., OF BRIDGEPGR NECTICUT.

T, CONNECTICUT, A COREORATION OIE CON YARN-DYED FABRIC ANDMETHOD OLE MANUFACTURING THE SAIVIE.

Application filed September 10, 1925. i Serial No. 55,533.

This invention relates to an improved yarn-dyed fabric and to the method of pro ducing the same, i V

The principal object of the invention to provide for weaving a large number pieces of fabric, such as plush upholstery igoods, to produce a maximum yardage having practically no varlation 1n the shade or color of thegoods in the different pieces.

A particular object of the invent-ion is to provide a method of weaving plush or other pile fabrics from yarn dyed in different batches with the yarns from the whole number of dye lots combined so that all the pieces are the average in shade of the shades in the different dye lots; the yarns being blended torrive a uniform shade or color throughout the breadth and lenpth of the fabric in each piece. and with all the pieces substantiallyidentical or uniform in shade.

Further objects of the invention are set forth in the following specification which explains a preferred practice for carrying out the process and describes a particular type of fabric as an example of the goods produced by the improved method. The accompanying drawings are illustrative of the character of one type of weave employed in pr (lucing the improved fabric by the method described. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a profile view'showing the arnngrement of the warp yarns in double plush weaving to which my improved nethod is applicable;

2 is an enlarged profile View showing the arrangement of the warp yarns in two opposite fabrics woven double in a plush loom; and

3 a more or less diagrammatic view illustrating the order and arrangement of the yarns across the idth of the cloth, the fabric being shown with the yarns widely separated in an open mesh to more clearly illustrate their disposition and method of interlacing. V

ln producing plush and other pile fabrics two difierent systems may be employed for dyeing the goods. The oloth may be dyed in the piece, or the yarn may be dyed in the in one batch and, as the pieces are approximately fifty yards in lenat-h, usually not more than three hundred yards can be dyed to a uniform shade.

Likewise, in yarn-dyeing the size of the yarn batch is limited by the capacity of the dye-kettle, and hence it is well nigh impossible to produce a large number of pieces of yarn-dyed fabric having a uniform shade, the shade varying in the different 1 ieces in accordance with the different batches in which the yarn is dyed. For some classes of goods it is not essential to produce a arp'e number of pieces with a maximum yardage of uniform shade, but for plush goods used inthe upholstery arts, especially in the upholstery of automobiles, it is of utmost importance to have the different pieces of practically identical shade. In the manufacture of automobile bodies an enormous yardage of upholstery fabrics is used, and to obtain satisfactory results all of the pieces must be of uniform shade. In most cases the covering for the cushions are cut from one or more pieces, and for the backs or the sides from one or more different pieces, so that if the colors or shades in the different pieces do not exactly match then the result in the completed upholstery is decidedly inharmonious and unsatisfactory. Heretofore it has been the usual practice to dye upholstery goods in the piece, but as before-stated, since only a limited yardage can be dyed in one batch it is extremely difficult to maintain the shade uniform in'the different pieces- -from several batches. and often many pieces have to here-dyed, and' others discarded or dis posed of at a loss. Moreover, in piece-dyed goods there is considerable wastage of the ill able pecuniary relatively expensive, both in costof raw material and mainifacture, there is considerloss entailed ith this method of production.

ln producing goods by the yarn-dyed process the. wastapjein the piece is not so great, but the cost is higher and this method has not come into general use. However. yarn-dyed goods are considered superior to piece-dyed goods in many particulars, and this lat er method of manufacturing upholstery fabrics is particularly adapted to the present inpr vement. As before stated, however, it has been practically fm I to obtain uniformity of shade in yarn-d; goods, that is to secure a min u variation of shade in a maximum yardage of the goods. The amount of pile varp yarn which can be dyed in one batch will usually produce only live or six pieces andtherefore the same disadvantages obtain as in the case with piece-dyed goods.

it is the object of the present invention to provide a method of producing yarn-dyed goods in which the yarn from different dye batches may be distributed throughout a lareje number of pieces, and so arranged in the individual pieces that yarns from all of the several dye lots will be perfectly blended to the eye, whereby to give not only a uniform shade in each piece, but with the shade substantially identical in an unlimited number of pieces. To this end the invention consists broadly in dyeing the yarn in a convenient nun'ibcr of separate batches, selecting Yarns from each of the dye lots. and combining the yarns from the different dye lots in definite order and regular sequence across the warp to be woven into the goods in such manner that the shades of the yarns from the whole number of dye lots are perfectly blended to give a uniform shade in each piece and the same shade mall the pieces.

The present method of producing the improved yarn-dyed fabric is particularly advantageous in the manufacture of pile fabrics. such. as plush and velvet used for upholstery goods, and Fla. 1 illustrates more or less diagrammatica ly a method of double plush weaving in which one fabric is superimposed above another with the pile threads floating therebetween to be cut to form the two separate pieces. In 1, L desig ates the lay of the loom which carries the reed R. and S, S are the two shuttles which are shot across the lay to carry the memes apart by the knife K. In this view l e ground warp yarns g are shown opened in the two sheds a and 6, while the pile warp yarns p are shown depressed in the upper shed and raised in the lower shed.

Fig. 2 is an enlar ed profile or sectional view illustrative 0t this type of double plush weave, the ground warp yarns g, g being here shown as interlaced over and under the weft threads 10 in pairs in alternate order. The pile warp yarns p are also interlaced over the weft threads in in pai bound under single picks, and then float 'i across to the opposite fabric where they are again bound under single picks and interlaced over two picks. with the order repeating tlroughout the weave. The pile three l: cross each other between the two flilirics A and B in the floats p which, when out by the knife K, shown in 1, are frayed or burst to interiningle their fibers in the pile which projects from face of the cloth. It will be understood, of course, that when the weft is beaten up at the fell of the cloth all of the yarns or threads will be compacted or closed togethev with the pile ends or floats p densely disposed to cover the whole face of the goods.

It is further to be understood that the present drawings are merely illustrative of one type of weave which is adaptable to my present improved method of manufactiu'ingr yarn-dyed fabrics, other weaves being, s ceptible of the same application so that the invention not limited in this respect.

In carrying out the steps of the present improved process relatively lare e quantity of yarn for the pile, that is the pile warp yarn, is dyed to an approximate shade in any convenient number of batcles; for cxanuile in ten dye lots, with each lot containing the maximum quantity which can be dyed in the hier or kettle at one time, usually about 250 pounds. The yarn in: be dyed in the skein or on cops or sad? for instance. by the well known Fran process, or by any other suitable method. The dyed yarn from the slteins or cops is usually wound on to spool to prepare it for delivery from a creel. All of the spools from each dye lot are grouped toga ther and the several groups taken to the creel and placed thereon in a certain or example. all spools from dve lot 0. L ma til) Ill)

dye lot No; 1 is laid in. the first dent, followed by an end from dye lot No. 2 in the second dent, then by an end from dye lot No. 3 in the third dent, and'so on, with the ends from the diflerentlots combined in sequence up to the tenth dent. A new sequence is then started by laying an end from dye lot No. 1 in the eleventh. dent. an end from lot No. 2 in the twelfth dent,- and so on, with the order repeating across thewhole width of the reed.

The yarns are next wound onto the beam to form a warp having the required number of ends, witl all of the ends disposed in definite order repeated in regular sequence in accordance with the different dye lots from which they are taken; The ends from the warpon the beam arethen drawn through the reed of the loom in the same order, it being understood that in the present example these endsform the pile yarns which float between the two fabrics in weaving a double plush as shown in Fig. 1. V I

Fig. 3 illustrates graphically the disposition oi the pile warp ends across the width of the fabric, it being und .stood' that the yarns are shown, not in their natural close osition, but spread apart at a considerable distance to more clearly illustrate their relation. Starting from the top of this view and reading down, the pile warp yarns 7) are numbered in accordance with the different dye lots from which they are selected and grouped in regular sequence. That is to say, the pile end 39 numbered 1, is taken from the first dye lot, the end designated 2 from the second dye lot, end 3 from the third lot. and so on up to 10, when the sequence is begun again with the end 1 from the first lot following the end 10 from the last lot, In the present example of the weave a pair of ground warp yarns g, intervenes between each two pairs of pile Wa p yarns p, p to form the ground or body of the tabric, but these yarns do not appear on the face of the goods and need not be considered in the present discussion with respect to the color 1' shade of the pile. I

The above described order or sequence oi the pile ends is repeated many times across the width of the fabric, and it will be under stood that when the yarns are laid in close juxtaposition in their natural relation in the cloth, one sequence or series of pile warp yarns from -1 to 10 with their adjacent ground warp ends will occupy a relatively narrow space with respect to the width of the fabric. That is to say, the ten ends from the ten different dye lots will usually be confined to not more than one-quarter of an inch of space across the width of'the fabric, so

that there will be a great many of these thepile tloats, that is to tray the pile width. ofthe cloth. That is to say, ii iii yarns vary in. shade from No. 1 end to No. 10 end, tor instance from light to dark, this variation will be comparatively slight, and

when the ends are burst, with their fibers interlningling in the pile, their shades will be averaged; Now as the shade of any one piece of goods is the average of the shades of the yarns from ten dye lots, the pieces woven itronrthe different series of dye lots will all be practically identical in shade, or, in other words, there will be no distinction between the shades of any two pieces in all of the goods.

It is usually not practicable to dye much more than 250 pounds of yarn in each batch and this quantity of pile warp yarn will produce above five pieces of goods of a deiinite yardage. With my present improved llrtllOCl. of manufacturing the fabric, if the ru dyed in ten lots of 250 pounds each this quantity or". yarn will make ten times fire, or fitty pieces of goods. Thus it will be seen that I am enabled to get a uniform shade orv color in a large number of pieces, fifty or more, which will run into a very high yardage, usually 2,500 yards or more. liloreover, as all the pieces woven from one series of dye lots are practically identical in shade with all other pieces made from other series of dye lots, the number of pieces which can be produced to the same shade is practically unlimited. It is to be understood that the number oi. dye lots taken as a unit in the foregoing description is arbitrarily chosen and may be varied as desired, tor instance, any number from five to twenty may be used as a unit with substantially the san'ie results.

-When the material is finished each piece of goods has a uniform shade across the width and along the length of the fabric, and all of the large number of pieces produced from the several dye lots are practically uniform in shade or color; while as the process is repeated, the diil erent pieces trom subsequent multiples of dye lots will average the same in shade or color, so that great uniformity is obtained throughout continuous manufacture. It is to be under stood, of course, that a certain amount of care must be taken in holdin the shades of the different dye lots to a minimum variance.

"lhatis to say, all of the differentbatches gencie's. usually encountered,

Usuall t e round warn arns and the 6 .L J

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weft yarns are dyed to substantially match the shade of the pile yarns, but a close match and uniformity of shade in these materials is not essential asthey do not I; show on the face of the goods. In other words, the pile gives the color to the goods and the important consideration is to obtain an unvarying shade thereof throughout continuous manufacture.

hile I have hereinexplained and illustrated a particular type or pattern of weave for the cloth produced by my improved method, it will be understood that the character of he weave may be varied to a considerable extent withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. That is to say the present invention is concerned with the method of dyeing and arranging the dyed yarns in the fabric and not with the particular pattern or weave of the goods; Moreover the present lull roved method or process may be applied to other types of fabrics besides plushes. It may also be used with other weaves than for pile fabrics, for instance for napped goods, or for brics where the warp yarns form "ace of the cloth or give the color to the goods. Therefore, without limiting v to the precise details of the method process as herein dos 'ribed, or to the par- L lar character of the fabric produced A 'eby I claim:

'1. in i 'iproved method of producing yar -dyed fabrics including the following a ing a quantity of yarn to an ape shade in separate batches; selezting an end from each of the different dye lots; arranging said ends in predetermined ill order in a warp; repeating the order in regular sequence across the warp: and weav- 1 quence across the reed; beaming tne ends in the order laid in the reed to form a warp;

ing the composite warp into a fabric.

An improved method of manufactur- Jug yarn-dyed fabrics including the followsteps: dyeing a relatively large quantty of yarn to an approximate shade in separate batches; selecting an end from each i the dye lots; combining said ends in definite order; repeating the order in sequence to form a composite warp; and weaving toe warp into a fabric to average the shades of the individual yarns whereby to obtain uniformi y of shade in the goods.

3. An improved method of manufacturing yarn-tlycd fabri s including the following ps3 dyeingyarn to an approximate shade 1L1 separate batches; selecting an end from each of the different dye lots and arranging them in definite order in a warp; repeating the order in sequence across the warp; weaving the composite warp into a fabric; and repeating the process to average the shades of the int... idual yarns to produce uniformity of shade in a plurality of pieces of goods.

el. An improved method of manufactun ing yarn-dyed pile fabrics including the following steps: dyeing yarn for the pile warp to an approximate shade in separate batches; selecting an end from each of the dye lots; combining said ends in definite order in the warp; repeating the order in sequence across the warp; and weaving the composite warp into a fabric to form the pile on the face of the goods.

5. An improved method of manufacturing yarn-dycd fabrics including the following steps: dyeing yarn to an approximate shade in separate batches; winding the dyed yarn into supplies for delivery to a warp beam; combining the ends from the supplies of the different dye lots in definite order and repeating the order in sequence; beaming the ends to form a composite warp; and weaving the warp into a fabric.

6. An improved method of manufacturiig; yarn-dyed fabrics including the following steps: dyeing yarn to an approximate shade in separate batches; winding the dyed yarn into supplies; selecting a supply from each dye lot and grouping them in definite order; combining the ends from the gigroups of supplies and beaming them in the same order repeated in sequence to form a composite warp; and weaving the warp into a fabric.

7. An improved method of manufacturing yarn-dyed fabrics including the following steps: dyeing a quantity of yarn to an approximate shade in separate batches; spooling the yarn for delivery from a creel: selecting a spool from each dye lot and grouping them on the creel; laying the ends from the spools in definite order in the reed in accordance with the grouping of the spools; repeating the order in regular seand weaving the warp into a fabric.

8. An in'iproved method of manufacturing yarn-dyed fabrics including the following steps: dyeing a quantity of yarn to an approximate shade in a number of separate batches; spooling the yarn and grouping the spools with an end from each dye ot in each group; beaming the yarn from the spools with the ends from each group arranged in definite order and repeated in sequence across the warp; and weaving the warp into a fabric.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a fabric comprising warp yarns dyed to the same color but varying slightly in shade as dyed in dill'erent batches, said fabric having the warp yarns combined in the weave with a yarn from one batch arranged adjacent a yarn from another batch in certain order across the cloth whereby the shades of all the yarns from the different batches are averaged to secure a uniform shade throughout the goods,

lflil 10. An improved yarn-dyed pile fabric comprising pile Warp yarns dyed to the same color but varying slightly in shade as dyed in different batches, said fabric having the pile Warp yarns arranged in series With it yarn of one shade from a certain batch adjacent that of another shade from a different batch and the series repeated across the cloth whereby the different shades are averaged to produce uniformity of shade 10 throughout the goods.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. W

GEORGE E. SHIPWAY. 

